Is That a Band or a Person? HELP!

Have you ever been confused about if an artist was a band or just a single musician? That's probably because you're stupid. HAHA! Jokes. But seriously, when bands are naming themselves like people and people are naming themselves like bands, it can get tough to tell which is which and who is who and why and how. Here are the names of some (excellent) artists that a lot of people get wrong, but that you will never get wrong again because you read this helpful post.


Bands that aren't people:

Steely Dan
Steely Dan is one of the greatest bands in rock and roll history. They fuse rock, jazz, folk, and funk in ways that no one else has. And I know they tricked us by naming themselves like a metallic fellow named Dan, but we're just going to have to accept that they are not a person. They are a band. There are two of them. Their names are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. They are excellent musicians and songwriters. They've definitely earned the right to name themselves in whatever confusing way they like.


La Roux
Aha! Here's one that almost nobody I talk to seems to know. La Roux, the excellent electro-pop recording artist is A BAND! A duo, I should say. Elly Jackson, whom most people call La Roux mistakenly, is actually just one half of the package. The other half is Ben Langmaid. Another dastardly duo! The next time someone says "that girl looks like La Roux," surprise them with your superior grasp of current music trivia! They will be so impressed that they will give you all of their money and lust after you for weeks.


Bon Iver
A lot of people know this, but I still hear "I saw him last month" or "I didn't like his new album that much" (that one is always my first clue that I'm talking to a fool) all the time. Bon Iver is a band. The singer, founder, and the guy whom you might have believed to be the whole outfit is Justin Vernon. He is joined by Michael Noyce, alleged voice angel Sean Carey, and Matthew McCaughan. While Vernon is certainly responsible for a lot of the band's success (and pretty much all of their music), Bon Iver is a band. So DON'T FUCK IT UP.

People that aren't bands:

Gotye
I struggled with this one myself for a time because what kind of name is "Gotye" for a person? Well, it's a stage name. Who knew? Anyway, Gotye is Wally De Backer, an excellent musician and composer and self-proclaimed "tinkerer" from Australia. His album Making Mirrors from last year is excellent and you should go listen to it.


Iron & Wine
Okay this is getting silly. "Iron & Wine"? That isn't any kind of stage name. That's a band name. Nonetheless, it's what Samuel Beam calls himself on stage/in studio. And despite his apparent lack of respect for band name etiquette, he makes wonderful folk music.

Journey
Haha! Again, you were fooled! You probably thought Journey was a band. But no! There are five people in Journey, but little did you know that all of them are Steve Perry! Zounds! It was him all along!


Okay that last one was a joke because I needed one more to make it even. Disregard it. But disregard no further! Remember the rest of these forever! I will make more of these instructional posts in the future. For now, go show everyone how smart you are.